Embodiments of the subject matter relate generally to communications, and more particularly to techniques for determining and continuously tracking the position of a wireless station.
There is an increased trend for wireless devices to employ location-based services. These location-based services provide a user of a wireless device with information accessible through a wireless network. The location-based service relies on the geographical position of the wireless device. Examples of such information can be the local weather information, driving directions, entertainment services, and the like. The geographical location of a wireless device is based on a known coordinate system (e.g., WGS84) that is used in a particular positioning system. Examples of such positioning systems include the global positioning system (GPS) and the terrestrial positioning systems used in cellular networks (e.g., GSM).
A typical wireless network employs one or more access points to connect the wireless devices through a wired medium, such as the Ethernet, to a larger communications network, such as the Internet. Each access point has a location that is associated with a particular positioning system. The location can be a GPS position, a GSM location, or the like. Most access points are not aware of their locations and obtain it through manual configuration.
Furthermore, access points are located in a variety of places, such as public parks, restaurants, private business, airports, libraries, etc. The location of some of these access points can be stationary. In some cases, the location of an access point changes as the access point moves. This movement requires that the location of the access point be updated. Accordingly, a need arises for automatically determining and tracking the location of an access point.